Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to communications systems and more particularly to distributed network elements that use Diameter protocol.
Description of the Related Art
In general, a networking protocol may provide centralized management of network services for users that connect and use those network services. Internet service providers and enterprises use networking protocols to manage access to the Internet or internal networks, wireless networks, and integrated email services. The network may include modems, access points, network ports, servers, etc. that communicate over an Internet Protocol (IP) channel from user equipment to an all-IP network core, which may provide access to other networks. Individual nodes of the network may use client/server protocols that execute in an application layer to standardize communications throughout the network. For example, Diameter protocol provides a framework for authentication, authorization and accounting by distributed systems to control which users are allowed access to which services and to track which resources they have used. However, individual nodes of the network may become unavailable e.g., due to node failure, routine maintenance, or connectivity issues. Accordingly, techniques that handle unavailability of a Diameter node are desired.